Abstract
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), an emerging life-threatening infectious disease caused by SFTS bunyavirus (SFTSV; genus Bandavirus, family Phenuiviridae, order Bunyavirales), has been a significant medical problem. Currently, there are no licensed vaccines or specific therapeutic agents available and the viral pathogenesis remains largely unclear. Developing appropriate animal models capable of recapitulating SFTSV infection in humans is crucial for both the study of the viral pathogenic processes and the development of treatment and prevention strategies. Here, we review the current progress in animal models for SFTSV infection by summarizing susceptibility of various potential animal models to SFTSV challenge and the clinical manifestations and histopathological changes in these models. Together with exemplification of studies on SFTSV molecular mechanisms, vaccine candidates, and antiviral drugs, in which animal infection models are utilized, the strengths and limitations of the existing SFTSV animal models and some important directions for future research are also discussed. Further exploration and optimization of SFTSV animal models and the corresponding experimental methods will be undoubtedly valuable for elucidating the viral infection and pathogenesis and evaluating vaccines and antiviral therapies.
Highlights
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) as an emerging tick-borne infectious disease is an enormous threat to human life and health due to its high case fatality rates of 12–30% and the transmission routes of tick bites and human-to-human and animal-to-human contacts
We review the advances and challenges in severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) animal model development by summarizing the characteristics of experimental animals infected with SFTSV and exemplifying some representative applications of the potential SFTSV animal models in studies of virus-host interactions, antiviral drugs, and vaccine candidates
Creating suitable animal models that can accurately duplicate the hallmarks of human infection becomes non-negligible and prerequisite to lucubrate pathogenic mechanisms of SFTSV and set up the rapid and economical platform to evaluate safety and efficacy of antiviral drugs, vaccine candidates, or other treatment strategies prior to clinical trials in humans
Summary
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) as an emerging tick-borne infectious disease is an enormous threat to human life and health due to its high case fatality rates of 12–30% and the transmission routes of tick bites and human-to-human and animal-to-human contacts Immunocompromised and newborn rodent models which are highly permissive for SFTSV infection and mimic some severe SFTS signs in humans, such as newborn mice, newborn rats, and IFN-signaling deficient mice, have been established to study the pathogenic mechanism and evaluate potential drugs and vaccines (Chen et al, 2012; Liu Y. et al, 2014; Gowen et al, 2017).
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